


The Battle For His Heart

by CarcinoArison



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Crushes, Denial of Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, Jealous Akechi, Jealousy, M/M, Pining, Unrequited Crush, a little bit silly if I'm being honest, the shuake is not established it's probably closer to unrequited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 08:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20636324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarcinoArison/pseuds/CarcinoArison
Summary: Goro's been at Leblanc for hours, not waiting for Kurusu or anything, it's just a nice working environment! However, that doesn't mean he doesn't want to spend some time with Kurusu when he gets home.Unfortunately, Akira's distracted by other things when he gets home. Namely, dressing Morgana up in all the new clothes and accessories he just got him. Goro is less than pleased at not being the centre of attention.





	The Battle For His Heart

**Author's Note:**

> yooooooooo what's this!!!! I've got a new fandom!!!!!
> 
> okay so this is my first time writing for Persona 5 but considering how obsessed I am with it at the moment it was about time. I gotta admit I had an absolute blast writing Goro, the whole "super polite on the outside but a bitch on the inside" is super fun
> 
> Anyway I had this idea on my mind and it's not too complicated so I thought it would be a good place to start, I don't think it's crack cause I believe Goro would totally do this but it is just a nice little humorous thing.
> 
> P.S Morgana doesn't talk cause by this point they are suspicious of Akechi so Mona doesn't talk in front of him.

It can be said by now that Goro Akechi has formed a habit. While the first visit to the back alley, coffee and curry cafe Leblanc had been planned for business reasons, the many subsequent visits less so. Goro likes to tell himself that it’s the best place to keep an eye on number one phantom thief suspect Akira Kurusu but he still finds himself drawn to the quaint, little hole-in-the-wall even when he knows Kurusu won’t be there. Something about the place satisfies a part of Goro’s soul more than any other and, while Sakura’s gruff attitude was mildly annoying at first, now that the old man’s warmed up to him a bit Goro must admit he enjoys the quiet company.

Although the place certainly draws him in with its rustic charm, even more tempting than the peace of the cafe is Kurusu himself. Goro’s well aware of how little time he’s spent with people of his own age group- As a child, it was because no one liked him, now it’s more that he doesn’t like anyone else- but the nights in Leblanc when it’s just him and Kurusu… and Kurusu makes him coffee just the way he likes it because he’s memorised Goro’s order by now and he teases Goro about always addressing him so formally with that oh so annoyingly smug but also stunningly beautiful grin and… and…

Goro jolts back to reality as if struck by lightning. What is he doing again? He blinks at the area around him, trying to piece together some clues. Oh right, he came to Leblanc to try and make a dent in the mountain of paperwork he’s got at the moment, however, he must have gotten distracted and dozed off. He’s not happy with where that little daydream about Kurusu was going, he is strictly Goro’s rival and anything else would be preposterous. It’s normal to notice a lot of small, intimate details about someone you’re spying on, right?

While Goro is distracted making a pathetic attempt at convincing himself that he doesn't think Kurusu is pretty, a fresh cup of coffee clanks down gently enough not to spill but still rough enough to startle Goro out of his thoughts… again.

“You look like you need a pick-me-up kid,” he looks up to see Sakura staring down at him with a frown, “It worries me sometimes how much work you always seem to have.”

Goro can’t help but scoff internally. Sakura’s hardly the first adult to say that to him and he has to resist telling him how useless his worry is, he did at least appreciate the coffee. “Ah, thank you Sakura-san! And please, you needn’t worry about me, I promise I’m not doing anything I don’t want to be doing.” He tries to end the statement with a reassuring grin but something tells him it won’t be enough to fool Sakura.

It doesn’t, going by the suspicious stare he gives Goro. “Tch, if you say so kid,” he grumbles, “Just try to spare enough time for being human.” with that, Sakura moves back behind the counter.

Spare some time for being human. Hah! Sakura has no idea the kind of expectations that are on his shoulders. Goro’s not allowed to be 'just human', he has to be something more, something better, the Great Detective Prince Akechi Goro! Even with all that he does he knows there are still plenty who look down on him, people who prefer Shirogane over him, jealous peers, and snobbish adults who refuse to see him as anything other than a child. Time for being human is the one thing Goro can’t spare.

Just as Goro’s taking an indignant sip of his coffee, the little bell signifying someone’s arrival to the cafe rings and, like a trained dog, he can’t help but look up immediately to see who it is. More often than not he’s disappointed to see it’s just another of Sakura’s regulars, who Goro has surprisingly come to know and recognise. Eventually, there’s a point where he finds what he’s looking for, like right now, he sees that mop of unruly hair and the shine of glasses that often seem to mask the owner from Goro’s superior deductive skills.

Akira Kurusu walks into Leblanc for once wearing an expression Goro could identify. The other teen is clearly excited and if Kurusu wasn’t as subdued as he is Goro would expect him to have a spring in his step. For some frustrating reason, he can’t seem to tear his gaze away from Kurusu as he greets Sakura with a cheerful wave. Objectively speaking, he’s one of the plainest people Goro’s ever met, aside from the whole potential Phantom Thief thing. He barely talks but Goro still finds himself hanging off every word he has to say and constantly longs for conversation. The whole situation is just ridiculous.

Despite said ridiculousness, Goro still prepared himself for the usual witty banter that is passed between him and Kurusu on the nights when they were fortunate enough to spend some time together. Kurusu, however, merely gave him a quick “hey Akechi” before turning back to the counter to pull out, of all things, that stupid cat he’s always carrying around. Megan, Morgan...no that’s not it… Morgana! What a ridiculous name for a cat.

“Kid, what the heck are you doing!? I’ve told you the cat isn't meant to be down here,” Sakura scolds his young charge.

“There’s no one here but Akechi and he doesn’t mind, right?” Kurusu turns to look at him with a grin that says he has total faith he’ll agree.

“Oh uh… Of course not.” He smiles but he wonders if should feel flattered that Kurusu feels comfortable enough to goof off in front of him, or offended that he seems to have been disregarded.

Sakura scoffs, “Hmph, fine. Just don’t make a habit of it alright.”

“I won’t!” Kurusu responds cheerfully, “This is a special occasion.”

That was curious. What occasion could possibly include putting a cat on a cafe-bar? The right thing to do here would be to either simply ignore Kurusu and his feline antics in favour of actually getting some work done or to go home and finish whatever he needs there. Instead, Goro pretends to be working on something with his laptop when really he’s staring at Kurusu out the corner of his eye.

To his surprise he finds him reaching back into his bag and pulling out… tiny outfits? Wait a second... small outfits, that don’t quite seem to be made for a human, and it’s something to do with the cat… Kurusu must have bought clothing for Morgana.

As if on cue, Kurusu coos, not unlike a teenage girl, “Look what Ann and I got for Morgana!”

After displaying the items for Sakura he goes straight to work putting them on Morgana. Before long the cat is dolled up and Goro can’t help but be reminded of all the times he’s had to endure going through dress and make up for his T.V interviews. He may have less than desirable feelings towards the feline at the moment but he could at least relate to its current torment. Although Morgana did seem to be handling it very well with only minimal squirming.

“I know you don’t like being manhandled but I promise it’ll be worth it, I’ll get you your favourite fatty tuna later as payment for your superior modelling skills.” Almost as soon as Akira utters the words ‘fatty tuna’ Morgana settles down, Goro can’t help but be concerned with its apparent intelligence.

Goro tries to subtly watch the makeover process from the corner of his eye until Kurusu steps back from his creation. Morgana is fully adorned in a knitted, red and black, striped sweater vest, and a miniature jack frost style hat, it’s time for him to show off. Kurusu gets out his phone and a moment later Goro hears the cacophony of clicks signalling Kurusu’s impromptu photoshoot.

Sakura grumbles, “Hmph, well I guess he doesn’t look half bad.” With neither of them- annoyingly- paying attention to him Goro gives in to the urge to roll his eyes. Sakura clearly cares about Kurusu and his cat, why does the old man even bother to pretend anymore? It pisses him off how much more adults care about their reputations then letting their families know they care.

“He looks amazing and you know it Sojiro, at this rate, he'll be a better model than Ann.”

“Tch, I think he’s got an unfair advantage being a cat and all.” Sojiro sighs, “It’s getting late and I still gotta make dinner for me and Futaba, I hope you don’t mind Akechi if I let Akira run the shop for the remainder of your visit.”

It takes Goro a moment to process that he’s being spoken to, “Oh, of course, Sakura-san, I don’t mind at all.” The smile he gives may be a little less fake than usual but it’s definitely not because he likes the idea of being alone with Kurusu.

Sakura waves as he takes his leave and Goro and Akira respond in kind. Normally, when Sakura leaves them alone like this, Kurusu would personally fix Goro a cup of his finest coffee (he’d always say) and they’d either play chess, have an intellectual discussion, or some combination of the two. However, Kurusu does not move behind the counter to put on his coffee-making apron tonight, nor does he get the chessboard from its place at the end of the counter. No, instead Kurusu pulls out another outfit from his bag of purchases and proceeds to start dressing Morgana in that one.

Goro can’t help but quietly seethe. Honestly, how many outfits does a cat need? None of these even look practical just stylish or cute. Neither of which is something a cat requires. If Kurusu had gotten the cat a sweater for the winter or some form of shoes maybe he’d be a bit more understanding.

Goro only has so much free time in the day and he chooses to spend a lot of it at Leblanc so is it too much to ask that Kurusu just pay him a bit of mind during this time? He has that damn cat on him every minute of the day. Kurusu is always vying for his attention at the worst possible times but when Goro’s present and not particularly busy he’d rather play dress-up with the cat… not that Goro cares that much…

…  
…

  
Oh, who is he kidding of course he cares that goddamn much.

He’s so caught up in his internal rant that he barely catches Kurusu speaking to him. “Hey, do you mind if I go put my pyjamas on? it’d be more comfortable.”

Goro’s still always a little bit struck by how brief Kurusu can be, even after all the time he’s known him. “Sure, I don’t mind at all.”

Kurusu makes his way upstairs, leaving Morgana on the counter. Goro honestly can’t understand how the thing doesn’t bolt as soon as Kurusu’s hands are off him, nonetheless, Morgana stays in his place on the countertop merely having a small bath.

Seeing how Morgana is distracted gives Goro an idea. It’s low even for his standards but quite frankly it’s been a long hard day and he can’t deny anymore that some attention from a cute boy would make him feel a lot better. And so, Goro taps into all of the stealth related skills he’s cultivated during his time in the metaverse in order to move quickly and quietly towards Morgana while he’s licking his paw. Like a predator catching his prey, Goro goes for the kill and grabs Morgana with both hands around his middle and keeping him at arm's length in case of any scratching attempts

The cat gives a yelp that, if Goro had been paying more attention, did not sound particularly catlike but didn’t lash out physically much to his gratitude. Swiftly so as to be done before Kurusu comes back down he moves to the front of Leblanc and opens the door with his foot.

“I’m terribly sorry about this Morgana, I know it’s unpleasant, however, since you’re a cat and thus cannot understand me I’ll at least grace you with the truth of the matter.” Goro squats down with the cat. “We both seem to be top contenders for Kurusu’s attention but tonight you’ve managed to rise just a little bit higher than me and I did not come all this way just be ignored.”

Goro sighs and puts Morgana down, “In short, I want a little attention and to get it I need you gone for the time being.” He isn’t sure what the range for cats showing emotion is but he thinks if he had to say, Morgana is looking at him with pure disbelief.

He frowns at the cat, not liking the implication that it may be judging him. “Stop looking at me like that. You get to spend your whole days and nights with Kurusu surely you can just let me have this.”

He heads back inside and tries to recreate the way he was sitting to the best of his abilities, forgetting about the weirdly emotive cat. Kurusu comes down not a moment later and does a double-take when he notices his missing cat.

“Hey, where did Morgana go?’

Goro does his best to look innocent, “Oh, he started scratching at the door when you left, I thought he might need to go to the toilet or something so I let him out,” he tilts his head, “I hope that’s okay?”

Kurusu blinks for a moment or two before looking towards the door with a frown, “It’s odd of him to just leave. Maybe he was getting sick playing dress-up.”

“It is a lot to ask of a cat,” Goro points out.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Kurusu looks a bit glum and it’s almost enough to make him feel bad.

“Would a game of chess cheer you up? I should go home soon but I have time for one match if you’d like?” This is it. The moment of truth.

Kurusu perks up a bit, “Yeah… That sounds nice, I’ll go find Morgana later if he doesn’t come back.” He moves to get the chess supplies from behind the counter.

Goro smirks inwardly. Victory achieved.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so as usual Kudos and comments are always loved and appreciated and I'm totally down for constructive crit within reason
> 
> If you enjoy this work and others of mine, please consider [Supporting Me on Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/W7W311BV9)


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